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I have read a fair amount of guides and watched numerous videos that help you improve at SC2, and I think that one aspect of the game is being constantly overlooked. I am talking about the fact that attention is a resource, and choosing how to spend it is incredibly important.
If you watch your own replays, or even pro games, you may have noticed that upgrades don't always get started exactly after the previous round finishes, even if the player has enough money to start the next round. You may also have noticed that even the best of the best players sometimes float a lot of resources, even though they have unused production facilities. That happens because their attention is directed somewhere else - to microing their army, dealing with drops, or even responding to insults in chat. Now, as you know, both being down in upgrades and not spending your resources are common reasons for losses. So, if you can make your opponent divert his or her attention from macroing, you may get a significant edge.
Here is where the situation gets complicated. To divert your opponent's attention, you usually need to spend some of your own - you need to unload your medivacs, warp in units near his base, or throw down infested terrans in his mineral line (Note that this by no means an exhaustive list, just a couple of examples). So, to use this concept to your advantage, you need to make your plays attention-positive. What I mean by that is that in such a play your opponent will spend more of his attention on dealing with a situation, than you will spend on creating it. This is especially important for lower league (non-grandmasters or high masters) players. Pro players can micro drops and macro perfectly at the same time, but most of us cannot do that, hence being attention-positive is important.
So, what are some of the attention-positive plays you can do?
Early game
+ Show Spoiler +Attack one of your opponent's workers with your scouting worker. Don't look at it, don't micro it, just select it and right-click on your own minerals when you hear the alert of it being attacked.
Set one of your workers to chase a scouting worker. Your opponent will have to micro it around your base, which, at lower levels of play, can delay his micro significantly.
Mid/Late game
+ Show Spoiler +Sending 1 DT to each of the 2+ bases that your opponent has. Chances are that at least one of them does not have both detection and defense. You don't have to micro your DT's, just focus on your macro. I would like to stress that the way you get ahead is not in "resources lost", but in diverting your opponent's attention from macroing.
Sending groups of zealots/speedlings/stimmed marines to different bases at the same time. Same idea.
Throwing down infested terrans/auto-turrets in your opponent's bases.
Blocking potential expansions with pylons/creep/supply depots.
Nukes (props to reikai for this one)
There are, of course, many more plays of the same nature that you can do. Also, please note that Terran drops are not necessarily attention-positive. You have to stim and control Terran drops, which requires a fair amount of attention.
By contrast, trying to prevent mining from the closest mineral patches by your scouting worker is an attention-negative play. You should only do it if you are absolutely confident in that doing this will not let your macro slip.
Attention can also be used as a situational resource. The best example for that is late game PvT. If you send warp in zealots/DT's in his main, your opponent will have to deal with it, and it is unlikely that he will be able to control his army perfectly. Engage, while he's busy dealing with warp-ins, and you have a good chance to win the fight without being hit by EMP's.
The good thing about incorporating attention-positive plays into your play when you are in lower leagues is that, as you get better, you will be able to build on them - you can start controlling drops to make them deal more damage, burrow lings after running into your opponent's mains, etc.
I hope that this will be helpful for somebody out there. If you know other examples of attention-positive plays - please, feel free to share them.
About me: I am a Masters Protoss player on NA server. I got to Masters with bad micro, and terrible positioning skills. I got here by managing my own and my opponents' attention.
P.S. Incidentally, I think that Protoss is the race best suited for this style of play - Zerg requires a lot of attention to macro and Terran requires a lot of micro in diverting plays. But this is more of a personal opinion, than anything else.
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I really like this guide! it's really the invisible resource of starcraft I think, at least until both players have so much APM that they can handle each other's attempts to slow macro (but even then there is an upper limit I think).
Add in for Terran: nukes!!!! cloak, press N on the minimap, go back to macro. Other than that, I agree that Terran is mainly "attention-negative" 
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Add in for Terran: nukes!!!! cloak, press N on the minimap, go back to macro.
Excellent idea, adding it to the guide.
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Landing vikings is also an option imo, but quite an expensive one :<
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Landing vikings is also an option imo, but quite an expensive one :<
Yeah, Vikings are expensive. Moreover, the thing about Vikings is that you usually need them - against collosi in TvP, against Brood Lords in TvZ and for tank sight/killing medivacs in TvT. Here, the actual unit value would be a detriment to distracting your opponent.
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Attack one of your opponent's workers with your scouting worker. Don't look at it, don't micro it, just select it and right-click on your own minerals when you hear the alert of it being attacked.
A better alternative for lower league players who often lack the speed and mouse accuracy necessary to right-click their own minerals is to mine minerals from their opponent's base, then simply hit return resources whenever they hear the alert of being attacked instead. This also works (and happens) at the pro level so it's not a simple "watered down" version.
Splitting your forces can force your opponent to spend more time dealing with trouble than the trouble maker (here's one not mentioned, burrowed units including lings at expos, infestors moving around every time after they attack, roaches, etc. and even drops where you pick up, leave, and shift-queue back) but in the end, if it's not backed by solid play (e.g. macro at home, forward progression on buildings) then you will simply lose to someone who "only" macroed.
Bottom line, these sorts of plays need to be added on to "standard play" rather than substitute for them, which will often be the case in lower leagues.
On a different note, while the concepts discussed here are nice, this seems lacking to be considered a guide.
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This attention-positif action is not already called: harass ?
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United States4883 Posts
I just want to note that I don't think you should ever be 1) using your scouting worker to attack your opponent's workers if you're not willing to micro; if you want to improve, you should instead focus on how to attain knowledge with that scout and keep it alive until the 3:30ish time when scouts should be chased away, and 2) chasing a scouting worker around; with the exception of probes (especially in PvP), you have absolutely no reason to even worry about what that worker could be doing other than scouting. If you send a scout and pull a worker off to chase his scout, you're effectively 1 worker short, it's better to just keep a general idea where the scout is using your minimap than to actually chase it.
As for the topic in general...I feel like this idea is really basic. Diverting attention from your opponent is a super obvious thing that everyone understands at a basic level, but you shouldn't be doing it for the full purpose of saying, "Oh gee, I REALLY hope I can mess with his macro some or make him have to work really hard." I would say that the main idea behind diverting focus is not so you can "focus on your own macro" but to actually ALLOW you to do stuff like move across army, divert and hit the 3rd, etc. You should be able to find your own way to multitask well, the key is not hoping your opponent can't multitask as well, it's DOING SOMETHING with the time and focus you've bought for yourself.
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Thanks for stepping out of the "macro better" box and into the "make him macro worse" box ^^
The best attention diverter is an X pronged attack. Just ship some harass to 2+ expansions wait for him to react, like a few seconds, then push the front and watch him fall appart. If you have low skill put all your attention on the pushing the front micro. Like if you play terran send 2 banshes to 2 mineral lines with just shift clicks, is almost no attention compared to dealing with them.
Opponent will obviously deal with the initial harrasment which opens alot of oppurtunities to fail. He might send to much, important support units that make his main army weaker or even all of his army to deal with the harass. When you push the front you will get some free time when he is not microing. Bad players will not even notice you are pushing the front until it's game over. I even think you gotta be kinda good to watch the minimap while dealing with the two initial attacks.
Ps. Please don't do this to me, I've got no clue how to deal with it in a good way. Got some serious 1a-syndrome =)
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I often find the first harasser to be in the most sound mindset. He pokes one of his opponent's eyes but fully retains his own.
~ dictate the flow; don't follow.
From a Zerg's perspective:
1. set up a fire in front of the enemy's door with a set of lings (not many), and just sit there.
2. lay siege/nydus peripherals with beefy army, overrun main with drop-lings.
3. empty overlord psych.
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I like hearing from scrappy players because that is how I started as well. I think the idea of "diverting your opponent's attention" is much more valuable than we think.
For example, when Reaper FE was more viable (if I can hark back to earlier TvZ), I found the opening to be very good because not only did it afford me some map control, but also it allowed me to harass the Zerg player and delay injects.
If you think about it, any time you can distract a player, especially a Zerg in the early game, you may halt their macro and temporarily obfuscate their plans.
If this isn't reason enough, I would also add that this sort of play is more aggressive and it lets you be in control of the game's tempo. You put your opponent into a defensive mindset, which benefits you down the line.
In any case, this sort of play isn't so different from competitive sports like tennis, which I played in college; This is also why I think ESPORTs are indeed sports. These sort of ploys and mind games happen all the time and it makes the excitement of the game more palpable.
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On August 15 2012 22:01 zmansman17 wrote:
I like hearing from scrappy players because that is how I started as well. I think the idea of "diverting your opponent's attention" is much more valuable than we think.
For example, when Reaper FE was more viable (if I can hark back to earlier TvZ), I found the opening to be very good because not only did it afford me some map control, but also it allowed me to harass the Zerg player and delay injects.
If you think about it, any time you can distract a player, especially a Zerg in the early game, you may halt their macro and temporarily obfuscate their plans.
If this isn't reason enough, I would also add that this sort of play is more aggressive and it lets you be in control of the game's tempo. You put your opponent into a defensive mindset, which benefits you down the line.
In any case, this sort of play isn't so different from competitive sports like tennis, which I played in college; This is also why I think ESPORTs are indeed sports. These sort of ploys and mind games happen all the time and it makes the excitement of the game more palpable.
are you taking the SAT cause that's a lot of SAT words for an internet forum
and this is pretty much exactly why I play aggressively, even though it gets me killed more often than not ....
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Lol at SAT hahaha. Anyways nice topic but shouldn't this be as a discussion thread insted of a guide?? Seems like its jist going into depth about how macro is important.
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I think focus would better suit the title IMO
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On August 16 2012 00:01 Chaggi wrote:Show nested quote +On August 15 2012 22:01 zmansman17 wrote:
I like hearing from scrappy players because that is how I started as well. I think the idea of "diverting your opponent's attention" is much more valuable than we think.
For example, when Reaper FE was more viable (if I can hark back to earlier TvZ), I found the opening to be very good because not only did it afford me some map control, but also it allowed me to harass the Zerg player and delay injects.
If you think about it, any time you can distract a player, especially a Zerg in the early game, you may halt their macro and temporarily obfuscate their plans.
If this isn't reason enough, I would also add that this sort of play is more aggressive and it lets you be in control of the game's tempo. You put your opponent into a defensive mindset, which benefits you down the line.
In any case, this sort of play isn't so different from competitive sports like tennis, which I played in college; This is also why I think ESPORTs are indeed sports. These sort of ploys and mind games happen all the time and it makes the excitement of the game more palpable. are you taking the SAT cause that's a lot of SAT words for an internet forum and this is pretty much exactly why I play aggressively, even though it gets me killed more often than not ....
Didn't see any SAT words. Maybe the SAT was easier back in 2005
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Attention is huge. Low level players spend most of their time "watching bars fill up". That means they're spending 90% of their time at their base, watching the progress bar on buildings and units complete. If you watch a lower level player play, you'll see exactly what I mean.
If you can learn to place a building and then forget about it for awhile while you do other things, your game will improve dramatically. Watching progress bars fill up is never a good use of your attention.
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On August 16 2012 00:01 Chaggi wrote:Show nested quote +On August 15 2012 22:01 zmansman17 wrote:
I like hearing from scrappy players because that is how I started as well. I think the idea of "diverting your opponent's attention" is much more valuable than we think.
For example, when Reaper FE was more viable (if I can hark back to earlier TvZ), I found the opening to be very good because not only did it afford me some map control, but also it allowed me to harass the Zerg player and delay injects.
If you think about it, any time you can distract a player, especially a Zerg in the early game, you may halt their macro and temporarily obfuscate their plans.
If this isn't reason enough, I would also add that this sort of play is more aggressive and it lets you be in control of the game's tempo. You put your opponent into a defensive mindset, which benefits you down the line.
In any case, this sort of play isn't so different from competitive sports like tennis, which I played in college; This is also why I think ESPORTs are indeed sports. These sort of ploys and mind games happen all the time and it makes the excitement of the game more palpable. are you taking the SAT cause that's a lot of SAT words for an internet forum and this is pretty much exactly why I play aggressively, even though it gets me killed more often than not ....
Lol in the last paragraph he says he played tennis in college so I doubt he's studying for a test for entering college 
Also, was it the use of palpable or what? Haha
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On August 16 2012 01:25 mordek wrote:Show nested quote +On August 16 2012 00:01 Chaggi wrote:On August 15 2012 22:01 zmansman17 wrote:
I like hearing from scrappy players because that is how I started as well. I think the idea of "diverting your opponent's attention" is much more valuable than we think.
For example, when Reaper FE was more viable (if I can hark back to earlier TvZ), I found the opening to be very good because not only did it afford me some map control, but also it allowed me to harass the Zerg player and delay injects.
If you think about it, any time you can distract a player, especially a Zerg in the early game, you may halt their macro and temporarily obfuscate their plans.
If this isn't reason enough, I would also add that this sort of play is more aggressive and it lets you be in control of the game's tempo. You put your opponent into a defensive mindset, which benefits you down the line.
In any case, this sort of play isn't so different from competitive sports like tennis, which I played in college; This is also why I think ESPORTs are indeed sports. These sort of ploys and mind games happen all the time and it makes the excitement of the game more palpable. are you taking the SAT cause that's a lot of SAT words for an internet forum and this is pretty much exactly why I play aggressively, even though it gets me killed more often than not .... Lol in the last paragraph he says he played tennis in college so I doubt he's studying for a test for entering college Also, was it the use of palpable or what? Haha
obfuscate was the one I was looking at. My friends teach SAT in Korea and they were showing me a word list today and that was one of the ones on there haha, just happened to remember it and see it now
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"Set one of your workers to chase a scouting worker. Your opponent will have to micro it around your base, which, at lower levels of play, can delay his micro significantly."
Even though you are stating that this is meant primarily for lower levels of play I would go further and say that this is absolutely only a good thing at lower levels of play. Whenever someone puts a worker to follow my scouting probe I'm as happy as I can get in the early game. Each minute this guy is losing 40 minerals of lost mining time while gaining nothing. Obviously this requires yourself to be able to micro your worker while macroing perfectly at home, but people playing at a better level should be able to do this.
So at lower levels of play you might be able to mess up your opponent's bo/macro significantly (or even make him lose his worker? :-)). At higher levels you lose a lot of mining time and while indeed doing some kind of attention-positive play there your opponent only needs to keep up with his early game bo which he can most likely execute in his dreams/while chatting/switching his music etc.
Nevertheless I think you are pointing out a very important aspect of SC2 that often might be overlooked in all the discussions about bo's, micro and macro.
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Hey guys, there is this new style of playing
It's called multitasking.
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EPT
